"I've watched a few Indian films, but not nearly enough to think that I know the cinema," he explained.

"I know that India makes more movies each year than any other country. It's not Bollywood alone – or what the world traditionally identifies as Indian cinema – but the cinemas of different languages.

He added: "It's been convenient to think of Indian cinema as all musicals, but naturally, it is so much more than that."

Clonney was promoting his recent release, The Monuments Men. Set in World War II, the film centres around a group of art historians, museum curators and academics fighting to save priceless treasures from the Nazis.

The actor recently attended the London premiere of the film, which also stars Matt Damon, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Hugh Bonneville, Bob Balaban and Bill Murray.